Radio From The Red Light District

Since a week the city of Amsterdam has a new, extraordinary online radio station. The unique concept Red Light Radio started broadcasting from a former prostitution window in the Dutch capital’s (in)famous Red Light District.

Red Light Radio brings daily shows of artists playing their favorite tunes, live performances by bands, acoustic sessions, and local, national and international DJs who drop by to play the latest records. According to the initiators, “you can expect shows full of afro beat or shows with black metal next to live acoustic performances or DJ sets by artists or even a show by you“.

Red Light Radio is planning to broadcast 24/7, but for now there will be a few hours of shows every day. All shows are recorded and made available for listening on the station’s Soundcloud page. People are invited to drop by at the studio when shows are taking place. The small cozy living room next to the recording space provides the opportunity to sit down, have a cup of coffee and enjoy the live show.

Local urban authorities are running a big and somewhat controversial clean-up in Amsterdam’s prostitution area by buying property and turning most of these former brothels, coffeeshops and snackbars into temporary spaces for the creative class. Over the last year many prostitution windows have disappeared. Red Light Radio is project that characterizes the aim of the city to broaden the cultural climate in the Red Light District. Before we wrote about other kinds of projects and initiatives, such as the Rooms of Red Bull and Red Light Design.

The contemporary web creates opportunities for for new types of content produced in completely different settings and styles. Every Internet user has the ability to make good stuff and distribute it through the web. There seems to be one rule to become big with your product: quality wins! As a consequence another type of new short movies has emerged. Without paralysation by Hollywood conducts and discussed at cocktail parties, but set free in terms of production and distribution. Amsterdam-based initiative Upload Cinema takes the best of web movies to the big screen.

1m wide, 10m deep, 12m high… These are the dimensions of an alley between two houses, at Herengracht 127/129, in the canal area of Amsterdam. This alley has been forgotten for years. Closed off for safety reasons. Hidden behind a metallic door. A metal junk yard ignored in favour of the surrounding narrow buildings classified as monuments.

On Wooster Collective I found out about an exhibition on the work of Graffiti Research Lab artist Evan Roth in Vienna. A prominent strain of Roth’s work explores the intersection of digital technology and modern graffiti. The opening coincides with the release of Roth’s new self published book called ‘AVAILABLE ONLINE FOR FREE: Selected works…

The trendy and famous Playhouse Nightclub in Los Angeles gives influencers on the Web a VIP treatment. Besides the Hollywood stars that frequent the club, visitors with a Klout score above 50 are the real VIPs in this Hollywood nightclub. The idea to introduce Klout to nightlife is part of a grassroots marketing campaign by the start-up from San Francisco.